Those pesky things called emotions
by MacyBear17
Summary: Parker's reactions when faced with a happier, more carefree version of the hitter after the San Lorenzo job... A fluffy look into the budding relationship between the thief and her protector...
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N : Hello!... I am back with more Leverage stuff... I was pleasantly surprised by your feedback on my first Leverage fic so here i am trying my hand at more of it... This time it is going to be a series of short chapters focusing on... yeah you guessed it right... my fav couple Eliot and Parker... So.. without further ado... let's get to the story... **_

_**P.S. Would love it if you could review your thoughts and ideas on this and other fics...**_

_**Disclaimer : Do not own any part or character of Leverage... even though I want to... so badly. :(**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 01<strong>

It was right after the San Lorenzo Job and they were returning back to the United States... first class. Nate had figured that after all the action they'd been through the last week or so, they deserved a little R and R and had asked Hardison to book first class tickets for them.

That was how Parker found herself relaxing in a huge cushy couch type airline seat with no one in the seat next to her. Nate and Sophie had been quite inseperable after the night they'd spent together... or was that supposed to be a secret?... Oh well... its not like anyone didn't know...

But yeah... Nate and Sophie had finally woken up (_both literally and figuratively... hee hee_) and started acting like the proper couple they'd tried to be and she had to say... it was unbearably sweet... almost toothache inducing.

On the other hand, there was the new and improved Eliot Spencer. Parker hadn't known what to make of it... or him when she'd met him first thing in the morning. She'd been busy pushing her little (_shyeah!... right...eye roll_) box of souvenirs and hadn't noticed him walking up with Hardison till they'd been a couple of meters away. The happy, almost carefree smile lighting up his face, the blue, blue eyes sparking with energy, his swagger that said that for now atleast, he didn't have a care in the world...

This was the southern gentleman, the cowboy in Eliot Spencer that she was seeing. The normal Eliot Spencer she'd come to know and... well... let's just stop at that... for now atleast, would never smile so widely that she was afraid his face would remain stuck that way.

She knew the second he saw her by the even bigger, brighter smile along with a rare teasing expression settling onto his face. What unsettled her was her instinctual reaction to his smile. Parker hadn't known she had smiled back at him until she felt her cheeks start to ache from the wide grin adorning her face. She'd even turned to look at herself in the reflective surface of the elevator doors to make sure that she wasn't actually smiling... but... she had been. No one... I repeat, no one had ever made her react in such a way.

Parker consoled herself by saying that she was just happy that her team mate, her partner was happy... and it was true... Eliot did seem happier and some how freer than she had ever seen him before. But this was an Eliot she had no idea how to react to or deal with... Or that's what she told herself.

Parker had become an expert at hiding and forgetting feelings that made her uncomfortable and what she had felt when Eliot at smiled at her that morning, was best tucked away in that box, tightly locked up and left there to be forgotten in time. It was a good plan and might even have worked had it not been for the multitude of feelings - those icky, uncomfortable and inconvenient things that kept poking their heads up at exactly all the wrong times, hadn't been swirling around her brain for a long time now.

She wasn't even sure when she'd started looking at the retrieval specialist in a different way... all she remembered was that she was stuck in the middle of all her inconvenient feelings even before she knew that they were there. She'd tried... Oh yeah... She'd tried and tried to get herself to ignore those pesky feelings and emotions, tried to lock them away in an uncrackable safe in her mind but they'd proved as wily as the hitter himself. No sooner had she gotten rid of one set of them, Eliot would go do something else and make her have to work on a whole new set of feelings... all aimed at him and his perfectly imperfect self.

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><p><em><strong>AN : Please review people... reviews are like life blood that keep me alive... :) Plus I love hearing whatever it is that you guys have to say... So keep reading and reviewing... **_

_**Lotsa luv**_

_**Macy Bear**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hi!... back again with another chapter... This goes out to **_**kta**_**, who's awesome review and request for more soon, made me sit down and finish this up in about half an hour... Hope you like it!... I will try and post more chapters soon... Meanwhile, I appreciate all kinds of feedback from you guys!... Keep reading and reviewing...**_

_**Edit note : Thanks again to **_**kta**_** for pointing out that i'd used the wrong word to describe the expression in everyone's favorite hitter's eyes... you're right kta, the word i wanted was **_**indolent**_**... not **_**redolent**_**...I've changed it now... it's really gratifying to know that you guys actually pay so much attention to the stuff that li'l ol me writes ;)  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Chapter 02<strong>

Here she was, busy wrestling with her feelings for her team mate and partner, wondering why he had to be so goddamn perfect for her when she felt the chair next to her shift a bit as someone occupied the previously empty seat. Cursing herself for not paying attention and the other person for daring to occupy the seat next to her, Parker opened her eyes, all ready to scare the hapless soul into surrendering that seat in favor of one not next to a crazy witch... Instead, she was caught in the gaze of those deep blue eyes she had been busy contemplating and struck dumb for a couple of seconds.

Even now, the indolent expression in his eyes, the amused twist of his mouth and the relaxed set of his shoulders told her that after a long, long time, Eliot Spencer was finally getting a chance to really unwind. She'd never seen Eliot in such a great mood, so carefree and happy ever before and what she saw, she decided she liked too much for her peace of mind.

A small voice, easily squashed but peskily insistent, kept reminding her that if Eliot was so happy that Damien Moreau wasn't gonna be walking free anymore, Moreau must've made Eliot do some horrific stuff in his earlier life... Trying to forget the disturbing thought, Parker was shaken out of her reverie when she heard the hitter's low, mellow voice rush over her like a wave of warm chocolate... with just a hint of bourbon

"Are you okay darlin'?... You look like you're busy thinking hard about something... Thinking about the next job already?... Or is it me sitting here?... Cuz if you have a problem with it, I can go back to my seat next to hacker boy... but he tends to sprawl when he goes to sleep... so..."

Oh god!... he was talking more too... None of those eloquent one word sentences and growls as answers for this Eliot. Parker was praying to every god she didn't believe in and Saint Nick that he would just go back to being his normal terse, growly self because she wasn't sure she could take much more of Happy Eliot without jumping into his lap and kissing him with everything in her.

There was just the right hint of indecision in his voice that made her hurry to reassure him that she was perfectly alright with him sitting next to her and to make himself comfortable. All the while, Parker continued to hit herself mentally for allowing the subject of her less than innocent thoughts of late, to be sitting next to her for the entire length of the long haul flight.

But however much she kicked her own ass, she couldn't help the feeling of being safe, the feeling of security that came over her whenever she was in Eliot's company. It was something unique to him and him alone. He was a protector... both on and off the job and of that, Parker had no doubt. She knew that Eliot would rather hurt himself than let any harm come to her. No one else managed to make her feel so safe that she'd be able to drop her guard enough to sleep in their presence.

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><p><em><strong>AN : Hope everyone like it... All ideas or suggestions to improve this or other fics are always welcome... For those of you not understanding subtlety, that was me, subtly begging for reviews :P**_

_**reviews are LOVE... So keep reading and reviewing**_

_**Lotsa luv and warm cookies,**_

_**Macybear**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N : Wow!... I totally blame this on kta and all the other awesome reviewers... So now you have my muse working overtime, putting out more E/P for you guys to read... Hope you like this chapter as much as you guys've seemed to like the last two...read and review guys... luv hearing from you... :)**_

_**p.s. kta, i've edited the last chapter after you pointed out my mistake... chk it out. **_

_**Disclaimer : Still don't own anything... but working on it now... have my own black king (vbeg)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 03<strong>

Both Parker and the hitter were the same when it came to quite a list of things... They were both uncomfortable in company, unable to relax in any place that they didn't deem completely safe and easily irritated upon being touched without warning. Even if Sophie or Nate managed to absently touch them, to prove a point or in a thoughtless gesture, both of them were sure to flinch or at least stiffen in response.

But somehow, between the two of them, it had never been a problem. Since they were partnered most of the time, the thief and the protector, they knew that they would have to be physically comfortable in each other's presence. They'd both decided that they would work on it and had been pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised, (_depends on the way you look at it_) when they found out that they could easily stand to be in each other's physical space without reacting in the form of flinching, stiffening and in Eliot's case, lashing out with a fist to the jaw.

They seemed to be always aware of where the other was, even without conscious thought. That answered the question as to why neither of them had ever managed to surprise each other... and for that Parker would forever be thankful cuz she'd seen Eliot's reaction to being surprised and it was not pretty. (_Refer to last phrase of previous paragraph for example_...) Hardison had been stupid enough to try it and had had to take the rest of the week off to nurse his almost broken jaw.

Eliot had even offered to make food for him everyday, feeling genuinely sorry for over-reacting to a harmless prank and had been hastily accepted... Food always got Hardison in a better mood. And Eliot's home cooked food could put even the toughest guy in a lenient mood... Parker figured that Eliot had maybe never cooked anything for Damien Moreau since he would've been reduced to a kitten in Eliot's hands after eating his amazing food.

Parker had somehow ended up offering to help Eliot against her better judgement and had found herself sitting on the kitchen counter next to the hitter, watching him carefully dice veggies, mix herbs and occasionally give her a spoon for taste testing. He'd seemed so comfortable in the kitchen... something she'd never been able to achieve herself, even if she'd worked in restaurant kitchens for quite some time in her teenage days. It was as if cooking was a way to relax for the retrieval specialist...

They'd had one of their 'deep' conversations that day, as was their usual practice... Parker and Eliot were able to talk about things with each other that they wouldn't feel comfortable talking about with anyone else... even on the team... except maybe Nate. But then, she had always said that Nate knew everything...

Parker wouldn't have been able to talk the merits and demerits of atheism with anybody other than Eliot, without them ever being judgmental about it and her. Eliot however, seemed to understand where she was coming from but managed to get his viewpoints across without forcing them on to her... Which reminded her that she'd have to give this Buddhism thing a good thought... It seemed like a nice idea.

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><p><em><strong>AN : Hope my subtle begging for reviews in the last chapter is still working... :P Read and Review ppl... Reviews are LOVE.. :)**_

_**luv**_

_**Macybear**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N : Well Hello there!... Hope everyone's havin as much fun reading this fic as I did writing it... I wanna thank all the people who reviewed, alerted and favorite-d on this story... Here's the next chapter of it... enjoy... :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 04<strong>

Parker had found that Eliot had so many dimensions to himself that it was becoming difficult to relegate him to the one dimensional image that she'd made for him at the time of their introduction to each other.

Another thing she lo... liked about Eliot was the way he kept whatever she'd told him between themselves. Nothing she'd told Eliot ever found its way to anyone else in the team... unlike some other people *cough*Hardison*cough* who could never shut their big mouths. Eliot understood the cost of her trust and never ever gave her the opportunity to regret putting whatever modicum of trust she did in him.

So she'd ended up sharing far more with Eliot than she'd ever told any other living person on the face of the planet. And in return, she'd gotten to see some more facets of the maddening mystery that was Eliot Spencer.

For example, while he might not have told her many stories about his life, but she understood that that was his prerogative, she had been the only one of the team other than Nate, who'd seen his ranch, ridden his Desmosedici (_he had both the GP10 as well as the RR versions but he'd let her ride only the road legal version, easily keeping pace with her on the GP10_), flown in his twin engine with him and learnt sky diving. She hadn't known that Eliot knew so many more things than he let on and with every new thing that she learned about him, her respect for him and his work had only grown.

Even though, Eliot and Parker spent a lot more time together than with anyone else in the team and they'd probably experienced more things together than with any other friend, Parker knew that Eliot was a man of few words. He didn't like to talk much and made sure the iron control he exerted over his physical self also extended to his emotions. All through their friendship or whatever else you called their relationship, Parker had never seen Eliot show as much emotion as he had in this job involving Damien Moreau.

She hadn't really imagined that he would get so emotional answering questions about his past with Damien Moreau and the way he had reacted when he'd found that General Flores had been kidnapped had been quite telling too. Now that the job was over and all was well in their world as well as in San Lorenzo, Parker had definitely not been expecting Eliot to respond with such a carefree attitude.

She'd never seen the hitter so calm and relaxed and curiously, it wound her up. As if, there was something unnatural about the whole thing... No... that wasn't right. It was just that this situation, his reactions and her reactions to him felt so right and correct that she was becoming antsy about the mess of emotions they were running headlong into... a situation she knew she had almost zero control over... a situation she still didn't know whether she wanted any control over...

And to top it all off, even as she was completely and utterly confused by her feelings for the retrieval specialist, she had no idea what he felt or even whether he felt anything for her in a way that was different from what he felt for the other members of the team.

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><p><em><strong>AN : This chapter is more for tiding you guys over than anything else... Next chapter will be longer... Scouts honor... :P I have plans for it... and like Eliot says, I like Plan M... So who else likes Plan M?... Review and tell me guys... **_

_**p.s. Jus so you know... I am not gonna kill Hardison... like plan M suggests... jus havin a lil' bit of fun with it... :P**_

_**lotsa luv**_

_**Macybear**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: Hi!... back with the next chapter guys... Its slightly longer... just slightly, but hey... I am working on it. :) Anyways, I had been joking about Plan M and how I liked it... some of you thought I was planning to do something to you favorite hacker... Relax... I am nice person... I always return my toys to their correct places in their original, unbroken condition... So, to prove my good intentions, here is a Hardison centric chapter... and I also gave him a smokin hot girlfriend... So you have to review and tell me how you liked the chapter and Rebecca Montez...**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 05<strong>

It was the next day. Nate had asked them all to rest up for a week as they'd all been on the edge regarding their problem with Damien Moreau for the last month or so... With his relationship with Sophie finally getting somewhere, Nate was feeling a little more generous with his and everybody else's time.

In the beginning, had the group been told to take the week off, they wouldn't have wasted any time before splitting in five different directions and seeing each other only at the end of the break. But now, after about a couple of years of working with each other and starting to feel like a real, if slightly dis-functional family, all of them weren't as surprised as they would've been when they found themselves congregating at Nate's loft the next day itself.

Nate and Sophie made no moves to hide their new closeness... Nate taking every opportunity to touch her and Sophie responding with her own small but utterly noticeable gestures. The Eliot of a year ago would've probably growled about toothaches and left the building as soon as he could... as it was, he shook his head resignedly, growled about toothaches and left to the kitchen to make everyone lunch, all the while smiling like he'd been the one to get the two of them together.

With Nate and Sophie involved in each other to the exclusion of everything and everyone else and Eliot hiding away from all the sugary sweetness in the kitchen, it left Hardison and Parker to figure out what to do with themselves. Parker had been oddly quiet since their flight but the team had just attributed that to either tiredness or the fact that Parker didn't usually talk all that much when she wasn't making sudden statements that gave them all mini heart attacks.

But Parker was still involved in thinking about where all this was going between her and Eliot and if there was even something going on there at all. With all her thoughts centered on the man currently occupying the kitchen, Parker failed to notice the hacker trying to catch her attention and was thus surprised when she felt a hand of her left shoulder. Automatically, she reacted with a move taught to her by Eliot, grabbing the hand in her right, she twisted lightly before bending forward, her elbow coming into contact with the person's stomach, and getting ready to flip them over her head when she heard perfectly familiar high pitched squealing coming from behind her.

Hurriedly letting go of her supposed attacker with a sheepish grin, Parker turned to find Hardison bent over, clutching his right hand and jumping up and down slightly in response to the pain. There were still odd noises coming out of him as he tried to stifle the groans emanating from his mouth as Parker stepped forward to lay a placating hand on his back awkwardly as she whispered a sorry. Both of them froze when they heard a couple of stifled giggles from the couch and a hearty laugh from the entrance to the kitchen that had no element of stifling to it.

"Now that is just not right man... That is... That is just wrong... on so many levels that i don't even know..."

Hardison's little rant still had a wheezy quality to it because of Parker's elbow planting itself in his guts a minute earlier. He'd just straightened himself and turned a glaring eye at the rest of his team. It brought him a little reaction from the couple on the couch as they stopped giggling but garnered him another laugh from Eliot, who was thoroughly enjoying the fact that the little blonde thief, who barely weighed a hundred pounds, had managed to tackle the tall hacker boy, who must've weighed twice that much with moves that he'd taught her.

"Gotta say this Parker darlin'... you are one helluva student. I honestly didn' think that you got quite this much out of our little sessions in the gym... I am very proud of ya..."

The blinding grin that Parker turned on Eliot was as much an insult to Hardison as that elbow to his gut had been. The hacker gingerly walked his tall form away into the debriefing room, grumbling about never trusting small blonde girls ever again, his brain already latching on to the idea of spending the rest of the day on World of Warcraft.

Hardison had once upon a time started having a slight crush on the blonde thief but somewhere along the way, that crush had morphed into something quite different and something quite real. Nowadays, Hardison couldn't help but look at Parker as the crazy little sister he'd always wanted but never had. Nana only took in boys into her home, so how much ever the young Alec had wanted, he hadn't ever had a little sister... Or a big one at that.

But that didn't matter now 'cuz he had Parker... The little terror could be an awesome little sister... And he had the advantage at that cuz he knew that Parker already looked at the team as her family and that she was the only one in the group that'd had no clue whatsoever about his crush on her. Never had he been so thankful of a girl not knowing about or returning his feelings.

Especially since it had been Parker's obliviousness that had pushed him to go to the local gaming club one night and that was where he'd met Rebecca Montez. She was a hacker like him... okay... maybe not just like him cuz everyone knew that no one couldn't be as perfect as him when it came to hacking... but she was great and coming from Hardison, that was a compliment.

He and Rebecca hadn't quite hit it off on the right note that night, with him killing off her character on WoW by mistake and having her in his face about it for the rest of the night. But Hardison had been intrigued... and an intrigued Hardison always did his research. After researching the chick he'd met at the club, the respect he hadn't had for her that first night was there... in spades. She was almost like the female version of him... and that was the best compliment he could ever give out to anyone... ever.

He'd found out that they shared pretty much the same interests and the next Friday, he'd gone over to the same club on pretense of making it up to her. It had helped that she'd been one of the most beautiful women that he'd ever laid his eyes on. Her latino descent gave her skin a milk chocolate look and that coupled with big, smoky green eyes and a height that had her standing as tall as his chin in her stockings, made Hardison work that much harder at trying to impress her.

True to her character, she'd also researched him, he'd been flattered by it, and he hadn't had to work quite that hard at impressing her. Hardison, even though he was one of the youngest in the Leverage Associates team, had built up quite the reputation when it came to his field of expertise and that was what helped him now.

Alec spent about five minutes thanking the good lord that had made him buy the Ferrari during one of their jobs last year when the time came to drop Rebecca off home. Whether it was the car, the rep that he'd gained, the man himself or some crazy combination of all of it, neither of them knew... But Rebecca ended up seeing a whole lot more of Hardison and his flat over the weekend, than she'd previously planned on.

The next weekend, when the whole team had been celebrating a successful con at McRory's, Alec had brought Rebecca over with him and introduced her to the rest of the group. Rebecca had gotten along famously with Sophie, both of them being fashionably inclined and had a great time discussing designers. Nate had indulged in just enough dialogue with her to not seem uncivil but them he'd retreated to his end of the table, busy staring at Sophie for the rest of the night, who didn't seem put out by the staring at all. Eliot and Parker had also connected well with Rebecca and on the whole, the team had come to like and respect the female hacker and had started to include her into their small but tight knit family unit.

But what had surprised Hardison the most was how perceptive his girlfriend had been. After just one meeting, she'd gotten a bead on just what kind of people his family were. She'd known that Nate was nuts about Sophie but they had a lot of history to work through... She'd also known that Parker and Eliot had something going on they themselves weren't probably aware of. She hadn't known that he'd had a crush on Parker at some point of time and that conversation had only served to bring them closer than they'd previously been.

So now that he was thoroughly happy with his awesome girlfriend, all Hardison wanted was to see his team mates and friends find their own happiness. Eliot was like a brother to him and Parker had become the little sister he'd always wanted... Now all they needed was a push in the right direction to get them to confess the feelings each of them had for the other and Hardison was starting to wonder if he ought to be the one to give them that push...

Nah... Sophie was the one... Yeah Sophie was the right person to meddle in all this. That way, if somehow Eliot found out about it, he wouldn't be able to pound on someone, meaning him. Hardison was just fine the way he was and he did not need electronics shoved into places they just shouldn't be in, he most definitely did not want to have to eat through a tube for the rest of his life, which was what he was sure Eliot Spencer would be capable of if he ever found out that Hardison had something to do with Sophie knowing about him and Parker.

Right... All he had to do now was to somehow subtly sic Sophie onto Eliot and Parker... Maybe he could ask Becca about this... She was much better at this than he was.

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><p><em><strong>AN : Hope everyone liked this chapter... I am gonna be writing a series of Eliot-Parker centric drabbles based on prompts from you guys... or atleast I am hoping to... So chk it out... It is called His Thief, Her Hitter... And review on this one guys... Remember... reviews are LOVE<strong>_

_**lotsa luv**_

_**Macybear**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hi! Here's the next chapter of my attempt at getting Eliot and Parker together. Hope everyone likes it as much as you seem to be liking the other chapters... This chapter is mostly Sophie and Parker... Just felt the need to put in some proper girl talk here, with a side order of crazy... :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything connected with Leverage or Disney... oh wait... I do own a Mickey Mouse glitter pen. Does that count?... Yeah... didn't think so. So now that we have established that I do not own anything of consequence, just lemme write this stuff in peace!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

It had been two whole days since they'd returned from San Lorenzo and Parker was going out of her mind. Eliot was still acting happy and relaxed and it was getting on her nerves how much she was having to control herself and her reactions to this version of him. Was that all he needed to make someone think so differently of him? But no... Not someone, her. The attraction she'd felt for him had already been there from the beginning, and in spades. She'd just found it easier to ignore or atleast, tamp down her reaction to him when he was his normal grouchy self.

But Parker knew that if he went back to his normal mood right this moment, the feelings that had come to the forefront on her part wouldn't just back down again. Eliot had opened up a whole box of messy, personal, in your face kinda emotions by acting all happy and nice and they were going to have to deal with the consequences.

Sophie... Sophie was the person to talk to. She was always telling Parker about how human relationships were formed of emotions and how to relate to other people by understanding their feelings and emotions. Right. So she could just call Sophie and ask her about the weirdness abounding in her life at the moment.

That decided, Parker was the kind that didn't believe in wasting time. She just picked up the phone and called the grifter... not thinking about the fact that it was two o'clock in the morning. Two rings in, the phone was picked up and a sleepy, male voice that sounded eerily familiar answered.

" 'ello... Who'sthis?"

"N-Nate... I.. I... Sorry... I thought I called Sophie..."

"You did?... Oh sorry... Must've picked up the wrong phone... Did you want to talk to Sophie?.. She's... Well she's asleep right now. Look... why don't you call sometime in the mornin' Parker?... I am sure that she would love to talk to you then... Is that ok?"

"Y... Yeah sure... Okay Nate... I'll talk to her later... Okay bye.."

Well... That wasn't embarrassing at all. Actually, it hadn't been embarrassing, just a little uncomfortable. The thought of Nate spending the night at Sophie's. Oh... Poor, poor Nate. Not only did Sophie have an incredibly uncomfortable bed, but she also had pink sheets... Pink! Who in their right minds would choose pink for their bed sheets? Especially when you weren't a six year old with a Disney princess addiction? Sophie obviously. But even Parker knew that no one, absolutely no one else would be brave enough or... stupid enough to ask Nate to use a bed with a pink, flowered coverslip.

But now Parker knew that she would be able to talk it out with Sophie the next morning and that was way better than worrying about the whole thing and frankly, Parker was just totally frustrated with the way she'd been unable to concentrate on anything today. Anything that wasn't the handsome hitter that is. Eliot Spencer had been making rounds of her brain and dominating her thoughts. So much so that the man himself had noticed that Parker was quieter than usual and had asked her if anything was wrong.

Trust the guy to know her well enough to know that something was different about her but not enough to know that she was acting differently because of him. Anyways... She couldn't think about this till she spoke with Sophie tomorrow morning and figured out just what was wrong... or right... or... Oh shiny tomato! She was actually going crazy. If she didn't lo- like him so much she'd kill him herself for being such a pain. It absolutely didn't matter that he wasn't even aware that he was being a problem.

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><p>The next morning found a groggy and irritable Nate, a curious Sophie and a half asleep Hardison still mumbling about his WoW game last night, or early this morning... whatever, at Nate's loft when the thief walked in, or rather swung her way into the kitchen via the picture window. As soon as it was established that Eliot was yet to make an appearance, Parker literally dragged the older woman into her office, almost pulling her arm out with the strength of her yanking.<p>

"Parker, Parker... calm down. What is it?"

"Did Nate tell you about my phone call yesterday?... Or I suppose you could call it today, but it was like really early, so I don't know whether it was yesterday or today.."

Sophie stopped the barrage of words falling from the blonde's mouth by the simple expedient of holding her hand to the thief's mouth.

"Shhh... Stop. Take a deep breath... now let it go. Okay. Now, tell me what the problem is. Slowly"

After following the grifter's instructions, the thief continued at a slightly slower pace... only slightly. It was to Sophie's credit that she caught everything that Parker said and even managed to make some sense of it, considering that Parker's narrative was... confused at best.

"Well, you see... he's always been there for me you know... I mean he's there for all of us, but for me, it's more than that. He understands me in ways I never thought any one ever would. I always thought he was very good looking, he's the best in what he does... I realized that he's always taken care of me one way or the other. He makes sure I am alright after hard jobs, he helps me patch up my injuries and stuff, he's the one who almost always around when I am testing out new riggings and he always makes sure that I eat right... He makes me feel... safe. Like I am somewhere where no one can hurt me. He makes me feel all warm and... happy inside."

Parker took a deep breath here, as if she was trying to ready herself for what she was gonna say next

"But now, after the Moreau thing, he's been acting so differently... I can't... I just can't seem to control my reactions around him. I feel all giggly and girly around him and I don't even know what that means. I've never acted like this before, I get... I don't know... I just can't get myself to say things in front of him..."

"You get tongue tied..." put in the grifter helpfully, not knowing what she was getting herself into.

"What?... Why would I tie my tongue?... Is that even possible?"

Immediately, the thief started to try folding her tongue indifferent ways, almost grunting with the effort

"Parker, Parker... sweetie, it's just an expression... You can't actually tie your tongue. It's impossible."

The blonde had a frustrated expression on her face now

"Then why would they say that?... If you cannot tie your tongue, how can you be tongue tied? This just doesn't make sense..."

"It means that you become unable to express yourself in front of someone. It usually happens when you are nervous, afraid... or when you like someone... a lot"

The thief started pacing in front of the older woman, arms gesticulating wildly as voice got louder and more frustrated with every word.

"I mean I've always had these... feelings I suppose, for him. Remember that day last week, I asked you about the weird butterflies kinda feeling in my tummy?Yeah... those butterflies kinda go crazy all over the place when he's near me or when he smiles at me nowadays. It is so frustrating not being able to control my feelings and thoughts around him anymore... I don't know what this is Sophie and I don't know what to do."

The mini rant was concluded at a near shout, the emotional catharsis taking a lot more out of the thief than she'd anticipated. Through all of this, Sophie had been sitting quietly, her eyes widening with each new revelation from the younger blonde. Now as the younger woman slumped over in her seat next to the grifter, Sophie finally processed exactly what Parker had been saying... And the grifter's face lit up with a huge smile. Their little thief was growing up... She was in love. Oh how exciting!

"Parker... sweetheart, don't worry. It'll be alright. There's nothing wrong with you okay?... everything's alright... or at least it will be after I tell you what your problem is"

At that, the thief's face lit up with hope of finding a way out of her situation and she sat up to listen as if Sophie was going to reveal to her the secret of life, the universe and everything... Oh sorry... everyone knew that!... 42, right?.. Okay... so not that.

"Okay Parker... Listen to me carefully. It is perfectly normal to feel this way when you have feelings for someone. Strong feelings... like love. You are in love and that is why you feel that way around Hardison nowadays. You shouldn't feel bad or frustrated about your feelings. You should go and tell him how you feel. If I know you guys well, I think he also likes you back. He had a crush on you some time back. I know he has a girlfriend now, a nice girl too... quite a good match for him, but if you love him this much, I think you should go tell him"

Now Sophie had gone into babble mode and Parker tuned her out quite conveniently.

"This is... this is love?... I am in love huh?... Never thought that would happen..."

Obviously, Parker's brain hadn't processed the whole of what Sophie had said... okay. Wait for it...

"Woah!... woah wait. WHAT?... Hardison? Wha... Why would I be acting that way around Hardison?... And why should I tell him that I lo- like him?"

"Well dear, that is how it works. If you love someone, you should tell them... not someone else, right?"

"Then why the hell should I be telling Hardison?"

"Because you love him?"

This discussion was rapidly devolving into something out of twilight zone for Sophie. She was sure that the blonde had shown some interest in the hacker before, but she couldn't be sure... come on, it was Parker. You could never be sure about anything with her. Like now, she'd told Sophie that she had feelings for him, but she was refusing to go tell Hardison that she did. Wait... wait, wait. Did Parker ever mention that she liked Hardison?

Mentally rewinding and playing back the rare emotional display from the thief, Sophie noticed that Parker had never mentioned the hacker's name... or any other name at that. And that wasn't all she noticed. This time, things that Parker had mentioned which hadn't really sunk in the last pass, came to the fore in all their glory

"Oh my God..."

'Now what?' was the expression clearly visible on Parker's face as she turned to the grifter who'd been oddly silent for the last coupla minutes. The look of dawning comprehension, accompanied by something else that she didn't know how to classify, on Sophie's face told her that the grifter was finally on to something.

"It's not Hardison you like... It's... It's Nate isn't it? Parker how could you? He's mi-... He's almost old enough to be your father... not to mention, he has history. Loads and loads of history with... other people...he-"

Parker shut her up simply by clamping a hand to the older woman's mouth.

"Stop right there. You don't wanna say anything else about that right now. I am gonna remove my hand now, I don't want to hear another word of it from you... Okay?"

At Sophie's miserable nod, Parker released the older woman while looking at her in astonishment

"Why would you think that?... I never told you I liked Nate. He's like... I don't know what he's like but I definitely don't think of him that way. I mean, even I know that you two are like... made for each other or something like that and I would never... please... Eew! that is so icky... me and Nate"

Parker gave a shiver that expressed her feelings about that situation eloquently. Sophie, for her part quietened down immediately after hearing the conviction in the younger woman's voice about her not having feelings for Nathan Ford. Even though the grifter wasn't quite done celebrating the fact in her mind, Sophie started to use her top notch brains and...

"If you don't like Nate... or Hardison, then..."

"Yeah. Finally she get's it..."

"Eliot? Oh... didn't see that coming. But now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. I mean, if we created a guy for you from scratch, we couldn't do better than Eliot. He's, for the lack of a better word.. perfect."

"(Sigh) yeah... isn't he?"

Now that Sophie was sure that Parker didn't have any feelings other than the normal kind for her Nate, her brain was working furiously.

"Okay... so now we know that you like Eliot... a lot. So... What's the problem?"

"The problem? Where have you been for the last fifteen minutes Sophie?... The problem is that I lo- like Eliot... And I have no idea if he even thinks of me in that way."

"Okay. I get it. He's a tough one to call. Knows just how to hide his emotions and feelings if he thinks it is necessary. And we all know how over protective and stubborn he is, he'll just convince himself that having feelings about someone on the team is wrong. Hmmm... We have to come up with a plan... I need some time to think this over. Till then, just act naturally around him, I will try and find out if he has some sort of feelings for you by the way he acts around you. Okay? For now, just act normal... you know, your normal, not everyone's normal."

The brunette laughed at the peeved expression of the younger woman's face

"Oh come on Parker... You know we love you because you are you. I wouldn't want you to change for all the money in the world!"

"Sophie!... Why would anyone offer you so much money to make me change?... Has someone offered you so much money? Who wants me to change? Is it Eliot?..."

"Oh Parker, honey it's just an expression..."

"Oh shiny tomato!... these expressions! I hate them. They are so confusing!... Why would they say things when they don't mean them?"

Laughing, the grifter pulled the young thief along as the two of them left the grifter's office

"Come on sweetie... Let's go. The guys will be waiting for us and I am sure Eliot is here and has already made breakfast if that amazing aroma is anything to go by... Remember..."

"Act naturally... got it. Come on, let's go.. let's go. I smell that thing that Eliot always makes for me when I am sad... those cinnamon roll thingies."

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><p><em><strong>AN : So... there it is. Hope everyone liked it. Review and tell me what you thought of it. Next chapter is going to have a lot of E-P goodness. So stay tuned. The prompt-drabble thingy is also almost ready and the first chapter should be up either today or tomoro... Keep reading and reviewing guys... you make a girl very, very happy :D**_

_**Lotsa luv**_

_**Macybear**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N : Hi guys!... Here's another chapter. I know, I know... (Sigh) I promised lots of E-P goodness in this chapter, but sadly my muse seems to be on an introspective Eliot and Eliot back story kick these last coupla days. We had a major fight about it but somehow, I seem to have lost and this resulted from that... sorry :( Hope you guys like it anyway... Think of it as a build up to the finale that's round the corner. A big 'Thank you' to all who read, reviewed, alerted or favorite-d this story... Now on with it...**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Sophie was as happy as anyone could be. She and Nate had finally worked out their problems, Hardison had gotten a girlfriend who was actually a nice girl, their cons were all running perfectly and now, for the proverbial cherry on top, the two members of her family she spent most of her time worrying about, seemed to be heading towards a happy ending of their own.

When Parker had talked to her about her feelings for Eliot the previous day, Sophie had been completely astonished to see the change that came over the young woman. It seemed that their thief had finally found what she hadn't even known she'd been looking for her whole life. Sophie could clearly see how good Eliot was to Parker and believe you me, she had been looking.

Ever since Parker had confessed to liking the hitter the previous morning, Sophie had taken it upon herself to discretely watch the way Eliot acted around the thief, to find out if there was any possibility that he felt the same way about the blonde as she did about him. Sophie hadn't needed more than five minutes in their company to work out the fact that though Eliot himself might not be completely sure of it yet, he was already halfway in love with their thief.

The way the two of them seemed to be aware of each other all the time, the way they communicated without needing words, in glances and small gestures, the way the silences between them were never uncomfortable, told a story of trust and comfort with each other. The way he was amused rather than irritated by her craziness and how she managed to lighten up the usually gruff hitter into laughing at silly things with her, made Sophie want to shake her head in astonishment at not having seen what was so glaringly obvious for such a long time.

It was completely and blatantly apparent that Eliot and Parker were absolutely perfect for each other and Sophie decided that she would do whatever was in her power to make sure that the two stubborn, crazy people didn't botch it up in some way or the other, because something this special should never be allowed to fade away into obscurity.

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><p>Ever since he'd stepped foot into Nate's loft and their offices that day, Eliot had a feeling... a feeling that today was going to somehow, become very important in his life. It wasn't always that he had these feelings and whenever he'd had them, his instincts hadn't let him down. Case in point - Chechnya 2002, Bolivia 2006, Eastern China 2003, Egypt 2007 and a whole lot more...<p>

He'd seen only Nate and Hardison at the loft, which by itself should've triggered alarms in his mind. Parker was never late... ne-ver. Not ever. She was usually the first one to get in, always early most of the time, cuz he remembered she'd once said that a late thief was usually a dead thief... more or less.

It was curious he always seemed to remember what Parker said... whatever Parker said. Most of it took him a while to understand cuz let's face it, her logic wasn't the most... logical per se. Some of it made his head hurt, even after understanding what she'd meant and a tiny part of it, he'd never gotten. One of the things in that tiny part in which he couldn't understand Parker at all, was the fact that she could be so oblivious to the fact that hacker boy here had been crushin' on her for such a long time.

It was of course good for him that Hardison'd given up on the thief ever understanding his overly geeky euphemisms about pretzels and such, gone out and gotten himself a nice and decent girlfriend, who understood him and what he did. Actually, Rebecca Montez, looker as she was and their hacker boy could've been made for each other the way both their eyes lit up at the mention of anything that had a chip in it. He'd never understood the attraction that computers and other gizmos held for the hacker. They couldn't help you if you pulled the plug on them.

Eliot had understood very early in his life as well as his career that you never depended on anything other than yourself if you wanted to get out alive. His mind and body were things he knew he had complete control over and they'd never let him down, yet. He'd been uncomfortable in the beginning, working with other people and having to depend on Nate's plans to get the job done, Hardison to get them in and out, Sophie to get the attention away from them and trust Parker to do her job and have his back like he had theirs.

Even from the beginning, they almost always worked as a pair, the two of them. The thief to get the job done and the hitter to protect her and the merchandise. So, over the last couple of years, they'd built up a high level of comfort around each other, an unprecedented level of trust and an innate understanding of each other's thought processes.

He'd always thought of Parker as being beautiful. A lot of crazy, but he'd always thought she was a looker. Eliot knew that working with her kinda put her out of his list of prospective girlfriends... not that he ever had long lasting relationships, or even short relationships at that. It was a side effect of his line of work, not being able to commit to anything. And of course, normal people would never understand what they did, why they did it or why he put himself in mortal danger every time someone in his team got into trouble.

The team had slowly but surely become his replacement family. His real one was out of reach now, he himself had done that... not that he regretted any of it. But his team was his family now and Parker... she was something just a little bit more. He didn't know what it was, he didn't really wanna think about it. He was never going to act on it but that didn't mean that whatever it was, wasn't there, wasn't affecting the way he acted around her now, especially after the San Lorenzo thing, when General Flores had asked him whether he'd leave any of his team behind. Just the thought of leaving the thief behind had stabbed at his heart like a rusty dagger and he'd been almost unable to answer the General for a minute.

What he didn't know yet was whether Parker knew that he was acting differently towards her. He'd just forged a great work relationship with her and he didn't want to endanger their work relationship or their budding friendship by spooking her away with a display of emotions that he was sure would make her uncomfortable in the least, if not drive her away completely.

Now that the specter of Damien Moreau, which had haunted him for at least half a year, was gone, Eliot couldn't help but let his lighter side out. The relief he'd felt at locking away a man he knew to be more brutal and more vicious in his disregard for the value of human life than any other excuse for a human on the face of this earth, was so strong and all encompassing, that the side of him he kept private... the softer, freer Eliot Spencer came to the fore.

And he was still there, having fun, for the first time in a long time... letting himself go. Not having to be alert 24 hours of the day, not having to keep looking behind your back was liberating in a sense he'd never felt before. Of course, Moreau wasn't the only guy out there that was thirsty for his blood.

There were obviously others that he'd made enemies of, during his long and illustrious career as a hitter and a retrieval specialist. But Damien Moreau had been one of the people near the top of that totem pole and putting him behind bars in a country without an extradition treaty, set the hitter's mind at ease, at least for some time before he had to worry about other things... or people.

Since they'd returned from San Lorenzo, for the last couple of days, Parker had been acting slightly weird towards him... Of course, Parker was always weird in her own adorable way(did he just say _adorable_?... god... was he in deep or what) but she'd been acting weird... even by her standards. There was a little seed of doubt knocking away at his mind, as to whether she knew about his confused feelings for her. She'd acted slightly shocked when she'd met him at the elevators the day they left San Lorenzo, and again on the plane ride, when he'd gone to sit next to her. But afterwards she'd acted as she always did... or what passed for normal in Parker-world at least.

Still, Eliot couldn't quite put it out of his mind as he got ready to make his famous hot cinnamon rolls with apple butter for breakfast. He'd found from Nate that the girls were holed up in Sophie's office, talking about something... girly he guessed. Parker it seemed, had swung her way in through her usual entrance in the kitchen, early as usual, made her way to Sophie and dragged her off to her office without saying a word.

Okay. Now he was officially worried. Parker only took Sophie's advice when she had people problems. And that she was having people problems now, meant this had something to do with him and the way she'd been behaving weirdly around him for the last coupla days. Oh man... he'd probably gone and spooked her away with his careless display of emotions and now she thought that he was crushin' on her or somethin'... which wasn't wrong per-se... just that he hadn't wanted her to know that before he was ready to tell her, which looking at the situation now, would've been... oh let's see... hmm... Never.

Half an hour later, Sophie came out of her office being dragged by an enthusiastic Parker busy extolling the virtues of Eliot's cinnamon rolls. At least she wasn't running out of the apartment at the sight of him. That was good... he hoped. Deciding that he wasn't gonna start acting different and spook her even more, Eliot stuck to his normal self, acting the way he had been around Parker for the last how many ever months.

He had counted on Sophie watching Parker after their conversation, whatever it had been about. But he hadn't counted on the grifter eying him assessingly, which solidified the doubt in his mind that the conversation between Sophie and Parker had been about him. Years of building up that poker face and not letting his emotions show through came in handy as he continued to act normal, while inside, his thoughts were working up a storm.

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><p><em><strong>AN: Review your thoughts about this chapter... Next chapter is almost fully written and I promise that it has all the E-P goodness you want and more... ;) So stay tuned...**_

_**lotsa luv**_

_**Macybear**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Here's the next one... It's all E-P like I promised... Hope you guys like it :) Reviews are like hugs from Eliot Spencer... so plz plz plz read and review ppl!...**_

_**Thanks to all the people who stuck by this story and others even though I chose to put in as someone said 'anticlimactic' chapters... Thanks a lot guys... Love you all.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

After breakfast, the rest of the team left to get background work done for their next con, this one for an old couple that'd had all their life savings wiped out by a crooked investment banker, who was now on his way to the Bahamas. Usually, Parker and Eliot weren't needed in the first stages of the con and today too, they were left alone at Nate's loft, while Sophie and Nate went to set up meetings with the mark and Hardison went in to do some background checks and surveillance detail.

"Eliot..."

The hitter was still cleaning up the kitchen and so involved in his thoughts that he failed to register that Parker was calling him. When he came to, an impatient hand was snapping its fingers in front of his face and a clearly irritated Parker was glaring up at him

"E-lll-iiottt..."

The mixture of irritation, petulance and childishness in her voice made him smile involuntarily and that didn't make her any more amused than she was right now.

"Sorry hun'... jus' thinkin' bout somethin'... What did you need?"

"Nothing... I was just getting bored... Let's do something."

"Okay... What do you want to do?"

"I don't know... I just wanna do something. I don't like being bored."

"Okay... We could... uh... I would suggest some training but we've just had breakfast, and now's not the best time to train. So... how about some grocery shopping?... Nate's cupboards are gonna be bare soon if we keep eating like we do..."

Parker made a face at the mention of shopping and shook her head no

"I've been shopping with Sophie... and I don't like it"

"Darlin'... This isn't Sophie's kind of shopping. But okay... if you don't wanna do that... how about baking some cookies?..."

"Fortune cookies?"

Parker perked up at the mention of cookies. She liked fortune cookies a lot but she liked Eliot's chocolate chip cookies a lot more.

Shaking his head 'no' amusedly, Eliot said

"No baby... We're gonna be making some chocolate chip cookies today"

Parker squealed and bounced on her feet, clapping her hands in glee at the expectation of a rich haul of goodies at the end of the day. Amused by her childish display of happiness and quietly congratulating himself at making Parker happy, Eliot turned to gather all the ingredients necessary.

"Okay what do I do?"

Turning from his foraging, Eliot saw that the thief was bouncing on the balls of her feet with a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon in her hand, a mile wide grin fixed on her face.

"Wait... somethin's missin'... Ah... I know just the thing..."

Leaving the armfuls of ingredients on the counter beside him, Eliot turned back into the pantry and rooted deep inside for what he was looking for. The triumphant sound of him finding whatever it was he wanted, was followed by a grumble as he hit his elbow pulling it out of there.

Pulling the uncomprehending thief closer to him, Eliot carefully wrapped the checkered piece of cloth around her waist, bringing the strings around her back to tie them securely in the front. During the whole process, he noticed that Parker's breath had hitched whenever he touched her even accidentally and by the time he was done, she was quite flushed and almost breathing erratically. Smothering a happy grin at the information she had unknowingly volunteered, Eliot stood back to admire the pretty sight

"There... now you are ready for this... a regular Julia"

"What's a 'Julia'?"

"Who"

"What who?"

"Not a 'what'... it's a 'who'"

"O-kaayyy... you still didn't answer my question..."

"Oh... right... Julia is... Julia Child. She was one of the first female chef's to become famous for her cookbooks... She's supposed to have been awesome."

"Okay... So... what next?"

Over the next half hour, the pair worked together like they'd done this hundreds of times before. Eliot coached Parker as they went along and surprisingly, at least for him, she didn't seem so surprised at it, Parker followed all his cues and instructions easily and correctly. Once the cookie batter was made, spooned onto baking sheets and pushed into the oven to bake, Eliot asked the question that he'd been wanting to since they'd started the process

"You've done this before haven't you?"

"What?... I've never cooked with you before..."

"Not with me... You have some sort of experience cooking. You know your way around recipes and you are quite comfortable in the kitchen."

"Yeah... I've worked in some restaurant kitchen before when I was young... younger, I suppose.."

Came the blithe reply as Parker took off her apron and she made a face as she continued

"Didn't really like it all that much... It wasn't like this though. Being in the kitchen around you is so much better. I actually like this. I think I am gonna start helping around the kitchen more from now on."

The easy grin that came on her face was reflected onto his as he stepped closer. Stepping even closer brought Eliot right up to Parker, leaning against the counter as he slowly brought up his hand and lightly stroked her cheek. Feeling Parker stiffen slightly against his hand, more in surprise than in refusal, he softly said

"Flour..."

"What?" came an equally soft query.

Her eyes up close were as warm and liquid as pools of soft dove gray could be. There was a rare faint blush crawling up her cheeks as she stared into his eyes, as if trying to search something out

"You've got flour on you cheek darlin'..."

"Oh..."

She murmured something under her breath about _'dratted thing... I hate it... It always get everywhere'_

Was it just him or did she sound disappointed? But before he could figure it out, Parker had stepped back and gone to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"You... You wanna watch a movie or somethin' while they bake?"

A muffled reply of 'sure' was heard from he thief who was busy searching for something inside the fridge.

Shaking his head lightly at his stupidity, Eliot went on to the living room and popped some random disk into the DVD player.

Back in the kitchen Parker was literally kicking herself for reacting that way but she couldn't help it... having Eliot so near her, touching her cheek had made her so nervous, the butterflies in her stomach going crazy... She'd totally been anticipating him to do something like... oh I don't know... kiss her maybe... But then she'd found out that the only reason he was there was because she had flour on her cheek... disappointment had flooded her and to stop the perceptive hitter from knowing that, she'd panicked and stuck her head into the refrigerator.

Oh god she had to go back there and face him now... _'best to get your act together and act naturally like Sophie said Parker'_... she thought and taking a deep breath, sauntered into the living room.

They both sat down on the couch, Parker a couple of feet away from Eliot, hugging a throw pillow while Eliot put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back against the headrest.

It turned out to be one of those bank heist movies that Parker loved to make fun of and keep up a running commentary against and in the course of the movie, they twosome lost the awkwardness his actions in the kitchen had created unknowingly.

Fifteen minutes into the movie, Eliot had gotten up and pulled the cookies out of the oven, setting them out to cool. By the end of the hour, the hitter and the thief were snuggled up with each other, laughing at the plot holes and mistakes in the plan of the movie running on screen. As the movie ended and the blue screen came on the TV screen, Eliot turned to look at his curiously silent couch partner, only to find her sleeping.

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><p><em><strong>AN: So that's that. The next chapter is almost done... I've been trying very hard to keep things T-rated... It's tough believe me. So it's gonna be up sometime maybe tomoro... So stay tuned for lots more E-P action... And plz guys... review what you thought... I love hearing from you.**_

_**lotsa luv**_

_**Macybear**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: HI!... So here's the next chapter... Like I said in my last chapter, I've tried very hard to keep it T rated, but for the sake of erring on the side of caution, let's call it rated T+ okay?... **_

_**I have to confess I am not very happy with this one... It felt a little too strutted to me... But then, I've never been very good at writing strong emotions... Still have to work on it quite a bit I guess... :(**_

_**So review and tell me what you thought so that I can improve by the time I have another chapter for you... I would like to thank all my reviewers, all the people who've continued supporting me and my characters through thick and thin... Thanks to you all... :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Parker was curled up into Eliot's side, clutching the pillow like she did her bunny and was asleep with a slight smile on her face. Eliot enjoyed the fact that she felt safe enough with him around to fall asleep. A soft smile graced his face as he looked down at the sleeping angel, softly stroking her hair away from her face. Slowly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping thief, he got up from the couch and padded lightly into the kitchen for some water.

Once there, Eliot decided to put away all their cooking equipment that had been used in the making of cookies and cleaned up Nate's small kitchen as silently as possible, his thoughts still occupied by the beautiful blonde sleeping on the couch just a few feet away. Just as he was done wiping up the counters, he was alerted to someone standing somewhere behind him.

Turning quickly, he wasn't that surprised to see a sleepy blonde thief standing at the doorway... She'd always been the one that managed to creep into his office or the kitchen without him noticing as she made almost no sound when she moved.

"Are the cookies done?"

The sleep roughened voice of the slender blonde sounded good enough to him to be invoking a lot of... pleasant thoughts.

"Yeah darlin'... they're up in that little cookie jar that's on the shelf... Help yourself."

Crossing the width of the kitchen in a couple of huge bounds, Parker was at the cookie jar before he'd finished his sentence. One bite was all it took.

"Mmmhh... Ommigod... This is soooo goood..."

Yeah... Parker groaning in pleasure was probably not making it any easier for him right now. Eliot's thoughts were going in not so innocent directions and all he wanted to do right now was push her up against the counter and kiss her senseless... before doing other things that made her groan a lot more like she had just then.

Visions of Parker wrapped like a limpet around his body, her hands running through his hair while she kissed him back and Parker moaning softly in his ear while he kissed her neck were all running through his mind like some sort of addictive video.

Deciding that he had to work out some of this excess energy he had now, Eliot dumped his wipe cloth on the counter and walked, rather stalked past the thief who was still munching on her cookie, making incoherent little happy noises with each bite.

"I'm goin' down to the gym..."

He didn't even wait for an acknowledgement from the blonde as he quickly made his way out of the kitchen and down the stairway to the huge gym at the basement of the building. Since Hardison had bought out the building, Eliot had made him turn the huge empty basement into a gym, insisting that all of them needed the equipment and exercise if they needed to stay in shape.

Nate wouldn't step foot in it, Sophie just looked at him like he'd said she was wearing something last season when he'd mentioned exercise and Hardison had stopped coming just after one session with the hitter, claiming a permanently broken back.

So only Eliot and Parker ended up using the gym on a fairly regular basis. Even then, Eliot had never thought he would end up having to use the gym because of Parker. But that girl was proving to be very bad for his peace of mind and there was no way a cold shower was gonna be enough or inconspicuous at this moment. Running down the stairs, Eliot reached the gymnasium in record time and went for a session with his punching bag to burn off some excess energy before getting down on the mats for some katas.

Eliot didn't like practicing the katas very much because he thought that they conditioned response in a certain way and rarely helped one formulate strike patterns in a real fight. But one thing they were very good for was just letting go and involving one's body in the movements, allowing a person to just concentrate on the movements, the flow of energy and not think about anything else. And that was exactly what the hitter needed now. He needed to stop thinking about a certain blonde and get his body and mind under control before he had to face her again.

Parker had been so involved in enjoying every bit of that cookie that her brain had barely registered Eliot's terse statement about him going to the gym. Parker loved watching Eliot when he fought. The way he moved while fighting, was like a dance... only it was way better than some choreographed, practiced set of moves. This was a conversation in motion. Whatever the opponent threw at Eliot, he could give back one better...

The way his muscles flexed, the way he moved with grace and a particular economy of movement, as if he was reigning in some inner beast, allowing it just a little bit of freedom once in a while. Watching the hitter fight or even practice was a treat for Parker and she wasn't about to miss out on it now.

Happily munching on another cookie while she danced her way downstairs to some music she heard in her head, Parker had to almost screech to a stop when she entered the gym. In the back of her mind she idly wondered if clouds of dust had gotten kicked up when she skidded to a stop like she had seen happen in those Saturday morning cartoons she loved, but majority brain function had ceased at the sight that greeted her.

The hitter was out on the mats, his long hair swept back with a bandana, this one a bright blue, one of his favorites... hers too, and he was in the middle of a series of complex movements which she knew was a kata. The way he was moving right now, with slow, deliberate movements, the lights glinting off his tanned skin, the muscles bunching and flexing in a way that made the thief want to reach out and touch them... Parker was finding it difficult to stop herself from going to him and running her hands over his arms, his back... watching his muscles move underneath skin she knew from experience was warm and smooth, from up close.

She must've made some noise, she wasn't sure, but she knew the exact moment Eliot became aware of her presence. He tensed up slightly for a moment and relaxed again, continuing the series of movements in the same controlled pace. She knew that he was aware of her gawking at him, staring at him like she wanted to eat him up but for the life of her she couldn't move. Not that she wanted to move, but her feet seemed to be glued to that spot on the carpet and her eyes to his body.

Eliot was finally concentrating on his kata, focused on moving just the right way, controlling his body with his mind, completely immersed in the distraction it provided him when he heard a slight noise. A gasp that sounded very familiar. Cursing the blonde thief's natural curiosity in his mind, he concentrated on relaxing his body again and continued the kata to its completion.

He'd totally expected Parker to stand there for a second, see him busy in his kata and leave to do something else but a long couple of minutes later, he could still feel her eyes on him. Long years of practice told him that not only was she looking at him, she was outright staring at him, noting even his minute movements with wide eyes. Not knowing what had prompted the interest, she'd never expressed an interest in his doing martial arts or Tai-chi before, Eliot had to almost force himself to complete the complex series of movements.

As soon as his kata was finished, not bothering to go through the rest of the katas in the series, he turned to find Parker frozen at the entrance to the room, her wide eyes almost drinking up the sight in front of her. He might not understand a lot about her, he might not know how she would react but Eliot did know the expression in her eyes... he knew it very well... because it was the same expression he had in his eyes whenever he saw Parker perform one of her death defying stunts. A tinge of awe, a bit of admiration, a little anxiety for his safety and a whole lot of something else... something more basic, more elemental and more compelling.

Eliot didn't know what Parker thought of him but he was sure he'd seen an emotion he knew well... The attraction he'd felt for her was returned in full amount... at least for now. The expression Eliot saw in Parker's eyes gave him the courage to do what he did next. Looking into her eyes from across the room, Eliot lifted his hand and beckoned her closer. In response, Parker hastened to his side as if she was under some sort of spell... a mouse in front of the snake... knowing that it was a deadly attraction but unable to get away.

As soon as she was within touching distance, Eliot carefully caught hold of her hand, slowly so as to not alarm her, pulling her closer and closer till she was pressed flush against him. As Eliot's hand left her arm to snake around Parker's slim waist, she found herself involuntarily putting her arms up and around his neck. It was as if they'd been in this position hundreds of times before, it came so naturally and felt so right.

Soft sighs came from both of them at the absolute feeling of rightness, of feeling as if they had both been made for this moment, when they finally found each other... of being just half of what they were supposed to be before now. It would've been very scary for the two certified loners and thieves had it not felt so, so right, so correct.

Without wasting another moment, Parker, who always believed in letting her actions do the talking, stretched up slightly on her toes, tightened her arms around the hitter's neck and pressed her lips to his. Eliot stiffened for a second under the onslaught of her soft, pink lips but relaxed and kissed her back, quickly taking control of the kiss, turning it from something tentative and soft to something strong, sure and all-consuming.

Whatever ideas either of them had about what it would feel like to kiss the other just melted away in the face of reality. Neither of them had been shrinking violets or wallflowers in spite of their jobs. They'd both dated extensively, mostly one night stands... but none of their previous experiences had prepared them for this. The sheer emotional impact of one single kiss.

It had not even been the most sensual or the longest kiss in their experience but neither of them were prepared for what it brought to the fore... hot, messy, won't get swept under the carpet, beautiful, warm and make you think thoughts of 'happily ever after' kind of emotions.

By the time they separated for air, both of them had been holding each other so tight as if, if one let go, the other would just disappear. Breathing heavily, both Eliot and Parker were trying to figure out how to start the ball rolling on the conversation they knew had to ensue, because both of them knew that they just had to work this out for both their sakes.

They'd never had a relationship of this sort with anyone else... never thought that they could have a chance at a normal sort of relationship, something more than a one night stand with no names exchanged... something less awkward but more complex. Having something to look forward to at the end of the day, something other than work to run their life, something... rather someone to share their life with.

Due to their personalities, their histories and their jobs, Eliot and Parker had long since given up on expecting more from life. They'd never even entertained the idea of having a long term relationship with someone... but here they were, getting blindsided by the wealth of emotions each had managed to awaken in the other.

Eliot wasn't sure what to do right now. Parker had kissed him... He'd kissed her back. And it had probably been the most... he couldn't really define what it had done to him but he knew that he was changed in some elemental, fundamental way after that. But all this had only opened up another huge can of worms... He was sure about the way he felt for his little thief but he didn't even have a glimmer of an idea as to what she thought about him... or if she did at all. You could never tell with Parker... maybe she was just giving in to some momentary attraction he was sure she felt... maybe it was just about scratching at itch for her.

Sigh... There were going to have to talk about this. He wasn't very good at that... he'd never been good at expressing anything by way of conversation. Still undecided, Eliot pulled back a little to look at Parker. Her eyes were still closed, her cheeks flushed rosy and her pink lips were slightly swollen from the force of their last kiss. Slowly, even as he was looking, she opened her eyes and the emotion rampant in them knocked Eliot for a six. Her eyes were dark, almost black with a thin ring of grey in there somewhere. And then she licked her lips... that was it.

The little modicum of control that the hitter had left was destroyed by that simple action and without even meaning to, Eliot found himself leaning in for another taste of her, wanting to confirm whether he'd imagined the sweetness, softness and the perfect warmth of her lips. Whatever thought that had been swimming around in his head was forgotten the moment their lips fused for a second time.

This time, Parker was an equal participant, kissing him back with equal force, not letting him take control of it as easily as he'd done the last time. This time, the kiss lasted far longer than before and they only broke apart when the long forgotten pesky habit of needing air to survive, intruded. Even then, it was as if they couldn't stay away from each other, going back for small, sweet kisses even while panting for breath.

As Parker stood plastered against his body, her lips and cheeks pink, her breathing erratic even after a couple of minutes, Eliot couldn't help but move his lips from her mouth, tracing a path of soft kisses along her cheek, to her ear and down the line of her neck... savoring every slight shudder racking her slight frame and every hitch in her breath. Half his brain was begging him to just lay her down on the mats while his other half was shouting that this was Parker... she was special. And she deserved better... much better. Eventually the gentleman in him won out and he was just raising his head when Parker pulled Eliot's head back to hers for another soft kiss before leaning her forehead against his.

"We're gonna have to talk about this aren't we?" came the breathless query.

Parker's voice was nervous and a little fearful but also held just the right amount of hope that made him decide to put aside his anxiety and answer her in the affirmative

"Yes darlin'... This is something that is going to affect every part of our lives. We're not only friends, we work together and have to see each other everyday. In our line of work, even one day of carelessness can mean a lot of problems for the whole team. So we're gonna have to work this out. We're gonna have to talk about this..."

She nodded, but looked so nervous, so unlike the Parker that he knew and... oh what the heck... that he knew and loved. There he'd said it. Fine?... Anyways... She looked so unsure that Eliot couldn't stop himself from leaning down and pressing a warm kiss on her forehead

"Don't worry darlin'... We don't have to do anythin' you don't wanna. Okay?... I'll be there for you whether we decide to make this work or not. I'll always come for you, I'll always protect you. Whatever be the case... okay?"

"I know that Eliot... I know you'll always be there. You always save me. I trust you..."

With that, Parker put her face into the crook of his shoulder and snuggled into him, her breathing deepening as she relaxed in the circle of the hitter's arms. A place where she knew she was always safe... A place where she felt safer and more secure than she ever had in her entire life.

That simple sentence, coming from her was like listening to some sort of heavenly music for the hitter. He knew a little bit of what Parker had gone through in her life and he knew how difficult it was for her to trust anyone. The fact that his little thief trusted him made Eliot feel like he was ten feet tall. Those three little words, '_I trust you_' were even more precious than three other words that he hoped to hear from her... someday. Hopefully, someday soon...

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><p><em><strong>AN : So there it is... I still don't know what to think of it... So tell me what you thought about it and maybe I can feel a little better about myself for putting this out there... **_

_**Review guys... I need your feedback now more than ever... :|**_

_**luv and choco chip cookies**_

_**Macybear**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Hi there!... So, after a long, long time, I am back to finish this story I started. Sorry for not updating sooner but I had too many other things going on and many other fics that were taking my focus away from this one. But today, this fic gets that elusive 'complete' status update. Thank you to all the readers, all my reviewers and the whole amazing E/P fanfic community. You've kept me writing... and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.**_

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

The two of them might've just stayed there in the gym for a lot longer had the others not gotten back just that moment. The calm and satisfied atmosphere that seemed to surround Eliot and Parker was impinged on uncomfortably by the slightly sombre mood that the others seemed to be in.

Their next client, a woman named Carol Scott, wanted their help in finding her husband... more accurately, her husband's body, which was still somewhere on Mount Kibari in Alaska. He'd died there at the end of the last climbing season and bad weather had closed down the mountain for the rest of the year and now, the next year's climbing season was about to begin and Carol Scott wanted the help of Leverage Associates to find her husband's body and help her find the people who wrongfully murdered him up on the mountain and get justice done, finally.

From the look on Nate's face, Eliot knew that he'd already accepted the case and sighed at the prospect of climbing a mountain before the all clear signal was given by the mountain patrol... because knowing Nate like he did, the hitter was sure that the mastermind already had at least four plans in place for achieving what they needed to do and all of them involved him climbing the mountain in full gale force winds. And knowing the way their plans usually shaped up, it would also be pretty safe to assume that the plan that did eventually succeed would be one they would have to come up with on the fly, as things happened and somehow, cobble together a package as neat as one people might've spent ages preparing for.

That was just how things seemed to work out when the team was involved. It had happened almost every time before... be it in New York, Boston, Kentucky, Equador, Argentina... everywhere the team had taken jobs, this was the formula that seemed to work for them. And this time, Alaska would serve as the setting and after a very long time, Eliot would get an opportunity to use his snow gear. As exciting as that sounded, the hitter was a little worried about the rest of the team.

Though Nate had already accepted the case, as he should have, Eliot was a little worried about the ability of the rest of his team to cope with the conditions. Sophie would definitely show up in nothing less than the most expensive and stylish mink and fur coats... but would they be enough to protect her from the biting cold and windy conditions that he was sure they would face? And Hardison... this was the guy who couldn't even take the cold winters of Boston... how would he be faring in blizzard conditions?... And of course, the main cause for worry was Nate. The man had chosen the absolute worst conditions for him to be in... altitude sickness most often had symptoms duplicating withdrawal symptoms in alcohol and drug addicts. In other words, Nate would be most susceptible to physical harm by being present on the mountain in such bad weather conditions.

Eliot was not too worried about himself and Parker. They were people who trained specifically because they had to face adverse conditions on the job... Parker trained specifically so that she might be able to overcome any obstacles and make a quick getaway and Eliot nowadays focused on not letting any obstacles get in Parker's way in or out, while also protecting the others on the team. And after all, they would most probably be sent up the mountain together... the team retrieval experts would get laden with the job of bringing back the body as well as the evidence of wrongdoing, while Sophie and Nate did what they did best, grifting and making sure that their mark didn't get wise to their plan or succeed in making a run for it. Hardison would be fulfilling his ever present role of co ordinator as well as tech expert, putting his computer wizardry to use to help catch some of the slickest criminals in the world while not playing online RPGs with other techno geeks from around the world... or more recently, spending an inordinate amount of time in techie foreplay with his equally geeky but gorgeous girlfriend Rebecca.

But whatever Eliot felt about the job remained unaired, mainly because Nate had mentioned that they were running on a tight schedule. The moment Nate and Sophie had finished the pre job briefing about their clients, the team had been despatched to get ready to move out to Alaska.

Two hours later found all of them packed, decked up in cold weather gear and at the airport, where a private plane was waiting to take them to wherever they wanted to go... Parker whispered to Eliot that Nate had pulled in a favor from somebody who owed him and that was how they would be flying in a private jet... she seemed almost disgustingly awake and excited, considering it was almost two in the morning.

As they all filed into the tiny plane, that could seat at most six people, but do it in opulent and luxurious comfort, Nate and Sophie automatically took up the first couple of seats, Hardison took the left window seat in the last of the three rows of seats, leaving only the two seat choices in the middle row for Eliot and Parker. Eliot pushed his everpresent carry on under a seat and had scarcely dropped down into the cushy leather when he felt a slight, leather clad body jump into his lap.

Though they'd never gotten around to discussing it, Eliot knew that while Parker wasn't comfortable keeping a secret from her team, she hadn't also been ready to tell the others about her and Eliot... so he was quite surprised by her actions and a little irritated at not having known what she was planning. Plus, they were just leaving to go on a job that might very well be quite hard on all of them, both physically and emotionally... and he didn't want to have to deal with all the questions and comments now.  
>Barely stifling the slight curse that was about to escape, the hitter opened his eyes, ready to glare the little thief back into her seat when he spied the happy smile beaming across her face and her eyes dancing with good humor, and whatever he'd meant to say died on his lips and his glare eased into something a little less lethal... not that the blonde squirming in his lap seemed to care.<p>

Before he could even start saying anything, Parker had settled comfortably in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs neatly to one side, her head snuggled into the crook of his neck and shoulder and she let a quiet little sigh of contentment. Without even realizing that it was happening, Eliot could feel his body relax into hers, his muscles unclenching, now that she was comfortable in her position and not about to move from it. Sighing in defeat, the hitter's hands moved to put the seatbelt on both of them, when he felt familiar little, but incredibly nimble hands block his progress.

"Parker... you gotta let me put the seatbelt on... we're gonna be takin' off soon darlin'"

The smirk he got in return had him a little confused before he heard her nails tapping on something metallic and looked down to see that his seatbelt was already securely strapped and buckled around the two of them

"Already done Sparky... It's the first rule of base jumping... safety first"

The slightly superior smirk on her face was turning the hitter on like anything and he didn't stop himself from wiping it off her angelic features by capturing her grinning lips with his own and kissing her soundly. Lately, ever since he'd accepted that he more than liked Parker, the hitter had eased up on some of his rules... most of them including him, the woman in question and spontaneous displays of affection. So, the kissing... or the makeout session that followed didn't bother the hitter or the thief too much... but it did make a major mark on the rest of the team.

Hardison, who'd been sitting behind them had gotten up because he couldn't see Parker in the seat diagonally across from him and found the hitter and the blonde in the middle of a passionate kiss, with Parker happily nestled into the hitter's lap. The older couple in front might've been happily unaware of what was going on behind them had it not been for the involuntary squeak that left the hacker's mouth in reaction to what he was seeing. The ever curious Sophie was to witness the kiss next... her reaction prompting the mastermind to lazily turn in his seat, take one look at the liplock still proceeding and turn back while shaking his head and reaching for the small bottle of vodka that he knew was in the tiny refrigerator on his side.

By the time their makeout session drew to a close and Eliot Spencer opened his eyes a few minutes later, he was faced with a fascinated Hardison sitting where Parker had been before and a blushing but still smirking Sophie standing in the aisle next to him. The tiny plane had already taken off and they'd completely missed it... but it didn't seem to bother either the hitter or the thief too much. Still looking into Parker's grey eyes that were now almost completely dilated, Eliot spoke to the rest of them... though it sounded more like a low growl

"No questions from you guys okay?... Especially you Sophie. You son't say anything and we don't tell you anything now. We can talk about this later..."

Sophie managed to squeeze in a question before Parker and Eliot went back into their little world

"When later?"

"Much... later"

That was all she got, before she sat down, huffing in disappointment, knowing that she wouldn't be getting anything from the hitter regarding the tantalizing new developments. Hardison seemed to have no qualms sitting there staring at the new couple... a glare from Eliot found him shrugging and waving his hand at them to continue, but a raised eyebrow from Parker sent the tall hacker scurrying back to his seat.

Minutes later, their kisses growing softer and smaller, Eliot leaned back into his seat, moulding his little thief's body to his, and let out a little sigh before turning to her

"What brought that on?... I thought you wanted to... tell the team a bit later..."

A slight hurt look from Parker had him hurrying to correct her misunderstanding

"Not that I have a problem with this... in fact I like this better... now I don't have to hide anything around these guys... as much as I would like the privacy, it doesn't feel right keeping anything from them does it?"

Parker nodded her agreement, her wispy bangs soft and ticklish against his face

"But seriously... what brought this on darlin'?"

He felt the thief sit up in his lap and opened his eyes, focusing on her face that had a serious expression on it

"Hey... is everything alright?"

"It's ok Eliot... just that..."

"Parker darlin'... you can tell me anything... you know that right?"

"Yes I do... It's just that... this is a mountain Eliot. And both you and I know just how dangerous this could get in a minute. I guess the fact that something could easily happen to either of us is kinda making me feel a little..."

"But you know that this is my job Parker... our jobs are like that. This sort of risk exists in every job we do honey..."

"Yes I know that... I know that as a hitter you run the risk of so many things happening to you on every job and I don't have a problem with that... Just as I know you dont have a problem with my being a thief... But this... Eliot... This is a mountain... not a bunch of guys holding guns or throwing bombs. It's a force of nature Eliot and if there's one thing I've learned in all my years of training, it's that you don't go up against nature."

"I know babe... I know. But I also know that we will figure a way out of this... we have to. If not for our sake then for Carol Scott's sake. I know exactly what we might be goin' up against here... we're gonna have to be extremely careful... I trust you Parker... I have complete faith in you and your abilities... Do you trust me?"

"With my life Eliot... every day. But I don't wanna..."

"What is it darlin'?"

"I just found you now Eliot... I don't wanna lose you so soon... What if something happensup on the mountain?... What if something like what happened to Alan Scott happens to you?"

"Shhh... honey... Shhh... It's okay... nothing is goin' to happen to either of us. I am there to take care of you and you're there to take care of me. We'll get through this together. You know that don't you?"

She looked absolutely adorable with her tear filled eyes and her nose red from trying not to cry. Eliot knew that saying anything to that effect would only get his butt kicked but at that moment, a butt kicking from his thief was a lot better than having her cry

"You know you look absolutely adorable don't you?... Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer..." he sang softly in her ear

That brought a small smile on her face and earned him a good wallop on his arm, but at least she was smiling again.

"Look Parker... I promise you. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you are safe. That the team is safe and I will try my best to come back to you in one piece. Is that okay?"

She looked a bit worried again, but nodded and pressed a soft kiss on his lips before leaning back and studying his face as if she was memorizing it. As grey eyes stared into blue ones

"Eliot..."

"Hmmm?"

"I don't know if I should say this now... or if I should ever say it... or if it is even the right thing to say... I.."

"Just... just say whatever it is Parker..."

"I... I love you"

The amount of tension that had seeped onto his countenance after hearing Parker dither over telling him something, disappeared like it had never been there and in its place, a smile like the dawning of a new day spread across the hitter's features. The sheer joy and love radiating from his features was answer enough to her declaration and it brought tears to her eyes that such simple, small words could give someone so much happiness... She had never understood why saying things was so important in a relationship... but she understood the next moment when he replied to her declaration with his own

"Love you too my little thief..."

There was a warm shaft of light running through her whole being, as if she'd been in the darkness till now and just moved into the sunlight, and Parker couldn't stop the mile wide grin that drifted onto her face if she'd been paid a crateful of money for it.

Right then she knew... everything was going to be just fine. Even if things didn't go as planned on Mount Kibari, she and Eliot would be with each other... and she knew that together, they could face anything that was thrown their way. Life was going to be much better and thge dawn of the bright new Sun proved it right outside their airplane window, painting the rapidly lightening sky in hues of pale pink, rose and lavender... the perfect setting for the perfect beginning.

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><p><em><strong>AN: So... There it is. The last part of 'Those Pesky things called Emotions'... with this, the story is officially complete.**_

_**Any and all feedback is hugely appreciated... please review your thoughts and ideas... **_

_**Lotsa luv and cookies**_

_**Macybear**_


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